Joint for smooth-surfaced pipe



Patented Apr. 2l, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOINT FUR SMOOTH-SURFACED PIPE Alden E. Osborn, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Application December Z7, 1946, Serial No. 718,694

5 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved pipe joint or coupling means which. provides that plain end pipe or other cylindrical members can be connected together or attached to fittings by simply pressing the pipe into position into the coupling or tting without requiring 'the use of tools. My invention also provides a simple and easy means for disconnecting the pipes from couplings or ttings employing an expandable lock ring means to retain the pipe in position. It further provides a means for positioning couplings on the ends of the pipes to be connected whereby the coupling would be centralized Without requiring measurements or special skill on the part of those doing the assembling operation.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal sectional View of a coupling embodying two forms of my invention,

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a tting or pipe extension and illustrates a modified form of my invention,

Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a coupling and shows a still further modification and i Fig. 4 represents a partial end view of the coupling illustrated in Fig. 3.

My present invention embodies the feature of the utilization of the longitudinal expansion of the gasket or packing means and the pressure of the pipe contents to contract the pipe-holding means, according to the principle disclosed in my Patent No, 2,479,960, dated August 23, 1949, in combination with certain other features hereinafter described and claimed.

In Fig. 1 Il and i2 represent the pipes or cylindrical members to be connected and Ill represents the coupling or socket member into which the ends of the pipes are t be fastened. rlhe coupling contains an internal channel that is provided in its center with an internally extending flange I3, which flange projects into the gasket cr packing member I5 that extends about this flange and rests against the interior of the channel and is shown as provided with inwardly extending lips Ill that are pressed against ,the pipes by the pressure of the contents of the pipes acting on their exterior surfaces in the usual manner with gaskets of this type. The coupling channel is provided with end walls having slanting surfaces l 'l that may be either straight or spherical and contains, in addition to the gasket, and at each side thereof, two lock rings i8 and I9, which rest against these slanting surfaces, so that, when pressure is exerted on them in a longitudinal direction, they are caused to contract against the pipes I l andl2. As shown in this figure one of these rings. which is preferably in three or more sectionsis provided atthe inner edge of the inside surfaces with a cutting edge 2U that is preferably of a harder material than that out 'of which the pipes are made. While the couplings, as produced, would usually have .both ends: of the gasket i 5 and both of the lock rings I8 and t9 of the same form, I have, in Fig. 1, shown the lock ring i8 and adjacent gasket end of a somewhat different form than the lock ring I9 and adjacent end of the gasket, in order to illustrate two diierent'methods of preventing the gasket from being forced by internal pressure into the opening of the lock ring segments when the lock rings are expanded by the pipe before the ring has been seated on the pipe and reduced to their normal size. At the lock ring I8 end, the gasket is shown relatively thick in order to stiffen it at this point, altho other stiffening means can be used, so that, when the lock ring segments are fully separated, the gasket would not be forced into the segment opening to an undesirable extent. At the lock ring I9 endthe segment ends, as shown by thedotted lines,` are formed at an angle, so that, when the ring is contracted the segments would lap over each other while, when the ring is expanded, the segments would straighten out and not permit an excessive opening between` them and the depression in the pipe would be formed intoan approximately straight line. t will be noted that` at the lock ring I9 end of the coupling a spherical slanting surface is shown on both lock ring and collar, as with surfaces of this form on these parts it is possible to allow for a small amount of annular displacement of the pipe which is desirable in some installations.

At the ring I3 end of the coupling or fitting IU, a modif-led method of holding the pipe l l is shown, which comprises providing the inner surface ol the ring with a friction facing 2 having a greater coefficient of friction than the outer tapered surface of the ring and the internal tapered surfaces il of the coupling or fitting iii against 'which the ring bears. High contracting pressure brought on the ring both by the pressure of the internal fluid of the pipe acting longitudinally on the gasket and the relatively small angle of the lock ring and coupling tapered surfaces and also because the friction of the pipe on the inside of the lock ring compared to the friction of the tapered surfaces causes the ring to be drawn towards the smaller diameter of the tapered surfaces even w'ithout the assistance of the gasket pressure. While the friction facing 2l is shown as being a separate quite thick material in proportion to the thickness of the lock ring I8, any method of increasing the coefficient of friction of the inside of the ring in proportion to the friction of its outer surface, can be used that would tend to cause the ring to move with the pipe I i into its wedging position inside of the coupling taper Ill. i

While the lock ring i8 is shown with straight tapered surfaces to hold the pipe rigidly the lock ring i9 is shown with spherical surfaces to permit some angular movement of the pipe, as either form of Wedging surfaces can be used.

It will be seen that to connect the pipes it is necessary to push them into the coupling as far as possible when they will at rst be held by the contraction of the lock rings thru the longitudinal expansion of the gasket and will thereafter be more positivelyT locked in position by then admission of the pressure of the contents of the pipe to the interior of the gasket to cause its further longitudinal expansion. The longitudinal pressure on the lock rings I8 and It and thefc'ontracting pressure on the pipes depends on the internal pipe pressure, and the angle of the slant'ing surfaces of the lock rings. IThe pressure, unless the material. of the pipe is very hard,'would, with'the type of ring illust-rated at 19, be `suiflciern; to start the cutting edges "223 ofthe lock rings inte the pipe to an 'extent to cause them to dig into the pipe surfaces and vpositively lock the pipe an attempt is made to pull the pipe out of the coupling. Zit will also be noticed that 'more pressure could be concentrated on the cutting edges if `they ydo not extend completely around the inner ysurfaces 'o'i the lock; rings out that, in this case, the lock rings would cause ya series v*of circumferential indentations -around the exterior of 'thepipe instead 'of a substantially complete circle, as would be the case 'when the cutting edge eX- tends over the entire inner segment circuiti-'en ences.

As above described vno vspecial method 'for dis-n connecting the pipe vis provided. o'wever, as it Would he desirable 'to `provide "for pipe disconnenti-on, I have 'shown in Fig. l two :different f methods. At lthe pipe II l'end 'I have shown "key- Ways or notches 335 in the endY of the coupling "I thruwhich a tool or tools can be thrust-against the inner tapered surface of the lock ring 'inthe same way as illustrated and described in 'my Patent No. 2,479,960. At the pipe 'I2 end .I have, however, provided an entirely different disconnecting means which comprises a slotted sleeve 25 loosely surrounding the pipe vI2 'and pins or bosses '26 (preferably three) on the Voutside 'of the pipe and entering slots 2li in the sleeve. The inside surface of the adjacent end of the coupling is provided with keyways 23' thru which the ends `of the pins 26 can be passed when the pipe is turned to a vposition which lines up the ends of the pins with the gkeyways. The pins '2t are so located on the pipe l2 that, `when they strike the end 'of Athe coupling It `the sleeve 25 v/illnot enter the coupling to a suhi'cient extent to engage and expand the iock'ring IS vand the pipe l2 would be ,locked in place bythe ring, while, when `the pipe I2 is rturned to vallow the pins 2t to enter the keyways 23 the pipe can be Ypushed far enough into the coupling to allow the sleeve 25 to enter and expand the lock ring i9 Where it will remain until the pipe is pulled far enough out of the coupling to have its end moved out of the 'look ring, because of the lost motion between the pins "Zt and sleeve 25. Thus the pipe is simply pushed into the coupling to `connect the same While to disconnect, it is turned slightly to line up the pins 26 and keyways 23 and pushed entirely'into the coupling 'when it is released Yby the expansion of the lock ring IS and can 'be readily drawn out. This quick disconnecting means 'and the tapered enlargement of the coupling ends can also be applied to the other end of the coupling, but would not usually .be required at both ends.

Iig. l2. A a lmodiled form .of joint mechanism, shown at the pipe I2 end of Fig. 1, is illustrated applied to the joint in a channel coupling or fitting attached to the pipe by other means. In this figure thefitting H3 has the gasket I5 and lock ring I 9 in the internal channel and, 'in addition, it contains a Washer ZI (which can be split to permit insertion) between the gasket and lock rings, which washer serves to prevent the gasket 'from entering the openings between the lock ring segments when the lock ring is expanded. The lock ring is shown as modified by being arranged With Van internally projecting ridge or cutting edge 20 adapted to cause a circumferential indentation r(or indentations) in the exterior of the pipe when the pressure of the lcontents of the pipe is 'applied .to the gasket. A feature of the ychannel illustrated vin `Fig. 2 is provision of a shoulder `37 in the interior of the `clfiarnie'l that restricts the compression of the gasket by preventing a-n unlimited movement of the `washer 2 l. This figure also shows the lock ring expander tof .1 'for quick .disconnection o'f the vpipe except that the keyways '23 and extended ends of the pins 2'5 'are eliminated. vWith this form of my mechanism the vcoupling ofthe pipe is accoupplished by pushing 'the pipeinto the ttn'g until the resistance of the sleeve 25 'coming into contact with the tapered end of the lock vring I9 fis `lfelt when the end of 'the pipe Would be within the lock ring and in va position to vbe held in the fitting when pressure is admitted to the Ygasketth'e restraining of the movement ofthe pipe, when the sleeve 25 and lock ring le cernes into contact, being the indication that the pipe is in the cor-y 're-'ct position "for the Alocking action. To release the pipe, -the pipe is pushed 'against this resist-i ance and as far as possible into the fitting so that the sleeve 25 is Aforced into the lock ring i9, in Which position it is shown, when the pipe can be pulled out of the coupling, as explained in the description of Fig. "1.

In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a further modification of my invention `applied in this case t'o a coupling. In these figures the coupling l0 is fitted with internally projecting fingers '2B at each end with the 'space between forming the channel in which the gasket I5, lock rings |"8 and i9 are placed. The lock rings do not, in this form, bear directly against fthe slanting surfaces of the coupling, but engage ltwo rings '29 and 30 having 'internal slanting surfaces Il which rings 'are between fthe lock rings I 8 and I9 and the gasket 'i 5 and are the -par'ts moved longitudinally by the expansion of lthe gasket, as the lock rings, in this form, do not 4move longitudinally. It will be notedthat the lock rings I3 and I9 are shown in Fig. A'3 as 'being of the type having the internally sharp edge similar to the rings shown in Figs. l and 2, but obviously other lf'ormsfof rings can be used. This form of my invention is illu-'stratedV with 'a coupling casing which does not have the central positioning flange I3 as, in some cases, 'a means for centralizing the coupling is undesirable, 'as it is necessary to put the coupling entirely on one pipe and to move it onto both pipes after the pipes have been lined up. The pipe yis connected, with this form of my invention, in exactly the same way as with the other forms. However, to disconnect this form it is necessary first to push the internally tapered rings 29 and S against 'the 'action of the gasket lh to permit the expansion of the lock rings I8 and I9 and thereafter to lift the loci; rings. This can be accomplished by means .of the Special tool .31, .sqniewhat emular .t0 that -disQleStd :in

my aforesaid patent, consisting of two halfcircles (shown on the line of division) that have projecting arms that can be pushed thru the opening between the inwardly projecting fingers 28 on the coupling collar I0 and which, in this case, has an outer circle of arms 34 and an inner circle 33. Thus, when the tool 3l is pressed into the coupling I0, the tapered rings 29 and 30 are first moved to release the lock rings by the outer arms 34, and thereafter the lock rings I8 and I9 would be expanded by the inner shorter arms 33, allowing the pipes to be removed.

It should be understood that the various features of my invention as disclosed and hereinafter claimed may be combined in different ways in a single joint or coupling unit, and that all of the possible arrangements of these features and modifications within the scope of my claims have not been disclosed herein.

I claim:

1. A coupling means for connecting a cylindrical member to an internally channelled socket member comprising a packing gasket and an expandable lock means in said channel, and means for releasing said expandable lock means from said cylindrical member, comprising a loosely mounted member adapted to move with said cylindrical member when said cylindrical member is inserted into said socket member and to lift said lock means from said cylindrical member, and a key on said cylindrical member and a keyway in said socket member, whereby the movement of said cylindrical member into said socket member is limited to a predetermined extent and said loosely-mounted member is prevented from expanding said lock means when said cylindrical member and socket member are not in a relative angular relation to allow said key to pass into said keyway, and whereby, when said cylindrical member is rotated to allow said key to enter said keyway, said cylindrical member and said loosely-mounted member can be moved to cause said loosely-mounted member to expand said lock means, and a lost-motion connection between said cylindrical member and said looselymounted member, whereby said loosely-mounted member can remain in said lock means expanding position while said cylindrical member 1s being withdrawn from within said lock means.`

2. A coupling means for connecting a cylindrical member to an internally channeled socket member adapted to surround an end portion of a cylindrical member, comprising a packing gasket in said channel and a circumferentially arranged expandable lock means formed of a plurality of separable segments also in said channel at the side of said gasket with each said segment having an end portion that overlaps an end portion of the adjacent segment when said lock means is contracted and with some of said segments being out of line with other adjacent segments whereby substantially all openings between said lock ring segments, through which said gasket might be pressed, are eliminated both when said lock ring is in its contracted position and when said lock ring is expanded.

3. A coupling means for connecting cylindrical members to an internally channeled socket member adapted to surround an end portion of said cylindrical members, comprising a means for retaining said cylindrical members in said socket member, a gasket in said channel adapted to bear upon the exterior surface of each of said cylindrical members, and a means for l.centralizing said socket member and said gasket ini relation to said cylindrical members comprising a circumferential internally-projecting rib in said channel and attached to said socket member with said gasket covering the entire interior surface of said socket member between its said bearings on the exterior surface of said cylindrical members including the sides and top of said internal socket member rib.

4. A coupling means for connecting two cylindrical members having substantially smooth external surfaces, comprising an internally channel socket member surrounding an end portion of each said cylindrical member and having within said channel an internal tapered surface adjacent to each end thereof, two circumferentially arranged expandable lock means in said channel, with each lock means having an external tapered surface engaging each said internal tapered surface of said socket member and with each said lock means also having an internal non-slip surface engaging each said cylindrical member, and a packing gasket also in said channel and between said lock means, with said gasket having parts pressing against an exterior surface of each of said cylindrical members by fluid pressure from within said members and also having parts bearing oppositely on said lock means to, both thru the elasticity of said gasket and thru said fluid pressure acting on said parts of said gasket, longitudinally move said lock means apart whereby said movement of said lock means and the action of said cooperating tapered surfaces, causes the forcible contraction of each said lock means upon an exterior surface of each said cylindrical member and retains both of said cylindrical members in said socket member,

5. A coupling means for connecting a cylindrical member having a substantially smooth external surface to an internally channeled socket member adapted to surround an end portion oi' said cylindrical member, comprising a packing gasket in said channel, a circumferentially arranged expandable lock means, having a cylindrical member-engaging internal surface with a relatively high co-efficient of friction, in said channel at the side of said gasket, and a shoulder means, comprising cooperating internal and external relatively movable slanting surfaces on said socket member and said lock means with each said surface having a relatively low coeiiicient of friction, to, when said slanting surfaces of said shoulder means are given a relative movement by the longitudinal expansion of said gasket, centralize said lock means and to also contract said lock means and cause the said internal high co-efficient of friction surface thereon to forcibly press against and retain said cylindrical member in said socket member.

ALDEN E. OSBORN. t. A

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 769,896 Gapp Sept. 13, 1904 1,930,194 Dillon Oct, 10, 1933 2,017,994 Spang Oct. 22, 1935 2,111,956 Baldwin Mar. 22, 1938 2,182,797 Dillon Dec. 12, 1939 2,259,453 Beyer et al Oct. 21, 1941 2,479,960 Osborn Aug. 23, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 443,375 Great Britain Feb. 27, 1936 

